[Tfug] Removable carrier in USB case?

[Bexley Hall]

Hi,

I often have to diddle with a PATA or SCSI drive
(e.g., to wipe it clean).  Opening up a machine
just to cable it to the MB long enough to do
this is a real PITA.

I don't have any spare 5" accessible bays in which
to mount a removable drive carrier.

But, the idea came to me that I could gut an
external USB CD-ROM and install the carrier and
frame in *that*!  Then, conceivably, diddle with
the drive on *any* USB-capable machine!

Easiest place to start was W2K system.  Things *looked*
good.  Until I tried to repartition/reformat the drive.
Then, the "128GB limit" reared its head.  I thought
this was only applicable to internal ATAPI devices?
Regardless, I have EnableBigLba set.

Before I move on to try this on NetBSD box, is there
anything in the external CD-ROM box that could be causing
problems?  Sure, *it* could conceivably not recognize
the large capacity of the disk I installed -- *but*, I
previously had installed a DVD writer in that case and
used it faithfully.

(sigh)  You'd think folks would have learned from FAT11
days that these data types will inevitably grow so why
try to save bits *now* at the expense of the problems
that you *know* will arise LATER?  :<

Thx,
--don